Ayrshire Scotland Business News is provided by the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire. We publicise our members, and celebrate and report the wealth and rich diversity of entrepreneurial and business excellence that abounds here in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland. For further information e-mail Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle

Thursday, 7 July 2011

CKD Galbraith offer country homes within commuting distance of Glasgow

The town of Stewarton has always proved popular with families looking to move out of town and seek the rural idyll, whilst still being within comfortable commuting distance of Glasgow. It also has the advantage of being set in some of North Ayrshire’s prettiest countryside, and its history of artisan and rural industries is reflected in the rich variety of traditional local architecture, much of which is retained in the area today.

Formerly known as “The Bonnet Toun”, Stewarton retains a range of local businesses and services, as well as well regarded primary and secondary schools. Around a 30 minute drive away are the bright lights of the new Silverburn Shopping Centre and Glasgow’s south side.

Two unique examples of lovely country family homes are being marketed through CKD Galbraith’s Ayr office.

Cutstraw Cottage (pictured above) is a delightful listed property, a short distance from the edge of the village. Formerly comprised two cottages, it was once believed to have been home to the village bonnet maker, lending it a further historic connection to the “Bonnet Toun”. Now extended and modernized, the owners have created a comfortable family home with an element of contemporary design whilst still retaining the original character and charm. There are three main reception rooms and three bedrooms within the main house, and a separate self-contained building, currently used as an artist’s studio. A garden with lovely views towards Arran and a 2.7 acre grazing paddock complete this delightful rural holding. It is being marketed at offers over £380,000.

For larger families, Kirkmuir Farm (pictured above) is a fine refurbished farmhouse with adjoining traditional steading, which has been comprehensively refurbished by the present owners to create a lovely family home. The farmhouse has three reception rooms, conservatory, study and four bedrooms, with flexible accommodation including a self-contained office/guest room. The extensive gardens which surround the house have been professionally landscaped and are a particularly fine feature of the farm. There are a number of outbuildings, including a traditional steading offering considerable potential for a variety of uses. In addition there is a useful area of hard standing, and, for equestrian enthusiasts, up to 22 acres of grazing land. Kirkmuir Farm is for sale at offers over £450,000.

The partnership provides the full range of property consulting services across the commercial, residential and rural sectors throughout Scotland. The company enjoys a successful relationship with its associate firm in London, CKD Kennedy Macpherson.

The company’s rural arm specialises in farm sales and purchases, the management and sale of large estates and woodland, valuations and building surveying work.

THE EDITORThe Editor of Ayrshire Scotland Business News is Murdoch MacDonald, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge University, where his journalistic contemporaries included John Simpson, now World Affairs Editor with the BBC, and Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the Guardian. Murdoch MacDonald has been in the public relations industry and a freelance journalist and broadcaster for more than 35 years.He has handled the PR accounts of many top Scottish companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, John Menzies, Kwik-Fit and Barratt Homes.

He has hosted his own family finance programmes - "£s, Pence and Sense" on Radio Forth and "Moneywise" on Scottish Television.He now runs Ayrshire’s top PR consultancy Fame Publicity Services.

Wherever you are in the world, no other public relations consultancy, PR firm or publicity company can offer you a better or more cost-effective worldwide news distribution service, combined with search engine optimisation techniques that will drive customers and qualified sales leads to your company's website.

Murdoch MacDonald is also managing director of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire.Telephone: 01292 281498E-mail: Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

Murdoch and his wife Lilian (pictured above) have written a book called "Phoenix in a Bottle", describing how they overcame alcoholism and are now, contrary to conventional wisdom, able to drink alcohol responsibly again. "Phoenix in a Bottle" is published by Melrose Books price £16.99 and is now available worldwide.Reviewing the book, eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:

“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.

“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”

And now "Phoenix in a Bottle" has been selected as a set text by a top American university.

“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald will now be required reading for all doctoral students in a psychology programme at Alliant International University in San Diego, California.

Alliant International University, headquartered in San Diego and San Francisco, California, was formed in 2001 by the merger of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and the United States International University. Alliant has 6 campuses throughout California and also runs programmes in Mexico City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant is one of the premier psychology schools in the US, and it counts roughly half the licensed clinical psychologists in California as its alumni.

Dr. Gary W. Lawson is Professor of Psychology at CSPP. He says: “I adopted Phoenix in a Bottle because the dilemma this couple struggled with and the questions they ask themselves are like so many others I have encountered in 35 years of clinical experience treating addictions.“However, nowhere in addiction literature have I seen these issues examined and explained as well as Lilian and Murdoch do in Phoenix in a Bottle.“I also recommend Phoenix in a Bottle to many of my patients as well.”

You can buy "Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald online now direct from Amazon UK (click on book cover image below).